Hosted by Kelsey Grammer, Broadway on Broadway will hold their free annual concert kicking off the 2010–2011 Broadway season in the heart of Times Square, on Sunday, September 12th at 11:30am.  The free concert event is set to draw tens of thousands of attendees and will stretch from 43rd to 47th Streets.  The standing room only concert will feature both new and long-running Broadway favorites on a giant stage accompanied with a live 30–piece orchestra.  Some of the musical performances will include selections from The Lion King, West Side Story, Wicked, Chicago, Rock of Ages, and The Phantom of the Opera.  Visit www.broadwayonbroadway.com for a complete list of scheduled performances.          

   In celebration of Ringo Starr’s 70th birthday, the Metropolitan Museum of Art will be displaying his gold-plated snare drum in a special exhibit honoring the musician’s birthday.  On loan from Ringo Starr, it was originally presented to him by the Ludwig Drum Company during The Beatles’ 1964 visit to Chicago when the legendary rock group, in which Mr. Starr was the drummer, was on its first tour of the United States.  The exhibit will be on view from July 7th through December 2010 in the Museum’s second-floor Musical Instruments Galleries.  Visit www.metmuseum.org/ for more information.

   The American Ballet Theatre will be celebrating its 70th Anniversary Season with an Opening Night Gala on Monday, May 17, at the Metropolitan Opera House.  The special anniversary event starts at 6:30 pm with Mrs. Michelle Obama serving as Honorary Chairman, along with Caroline Kennedy and Blaine Trump. This year’s Spring Gala will honor David H. Koch for 25 years of service to ABT and its Board of Governing Trustees. 

   A special 70th Anniversary highlight program will feature American Ballet Theatre’s Principal Dancers in excerpts from Sir Frederick Ashton’s Birthday Offering, Swan Lake and Twyla Tharp’s The Brahms-Haydn Variations. The performance will include the Company Premieres of Ashton’s Thaïs Pas de Deux and Awakening Pas de Deux, as well as a pas de deux from John Neumeier’s Lady of the Camellias. The evening will also feature the Spring Gala debut of ABT II, in the first movement of Edwaard Liang’s Ballo Per Sei. Set to music by Antonio Vivaldi, Ballo Per Sei was given its World Premiere at The Joyce Theater on April 13, 2010.

   The anniversary event will conclude with a Gala dinner under the Tent at Lincoln Center following the performance. Gala benefit tickets are priced at $1,500, $2,000 and $2,500 and include the performance and post-performance dinner. For Gala benefit ticket information only, call American Ballet Theatre’s Special Events office at 212-477-3030, ext. 3239.

   Performance-only tickets, priced $28 to $150, are available online, at the Metropolitan Opera House box office or by calling 212-362-6000. Visit the American Ballet Theatre website at www.abt.org for additional information.      

On March 7th, the NYC & Company Foundation, a charitable organization that supports hundreds of nonprofit arts and cultural programs throughout NYC, will host their first Oscar Night and the City America Gala at Alice Tully Hall (1941 Broadway between 64th and 65th Sts), at Lincoln Center. The benefit gala starts at 7pm with a cocktail reception folllowed by an exclusive live-broadcast viewing of the 82nd Academy Awards in the grand concert hall. Tickets to the Oscar Night and the City Gala are $150.00 or premium seating for $225.00 that includes extra perks. Tickets are available at www.nycona.eventbrite.com

   The Town Hall has announced their lineup of three spectacular concert evenings as part of their fifth annual Broadway Cabaret Festival.

   On October 16th, the Town Hall kicks off with A Tribute to David Merrick. The song filled evening will include broadway tributes featuring an all-star cast of talent with Marc Kudisch (9 to 5), Robert Cuccioli (Jekyll & Hyde), Stephen Bogardus (Love! Valour! Compassion!), Lee Roy Reams (42nd Street), Carleton Carpenter (Crazy for You), Stephanie J. Block (9 to 5), Julia Murney (Lennon), and MAC Award winner Jim Caruso (Liza’s at the Palace) and more to be announced.

    On October 17th, the Town Hall will present Linda Edner with her new show Linda Eder: All of Me. Linda will be accompanied by a seven-piece orchestra led by Billy Stein and the show will feature some new arrangements to her signature songs.

   On October 18th, the festival concludes with Broadway Originals featuring Michael Rupert, Stephen Bogardus, Barbara Walsh, Chip Zien and Jonathan Kaplan—the five original Broadway stars of William Finn’s Falsettos—in a special tribute to that famous show. The show-stopping Stephanie J. Block (9 to 5),and Tony nominees Marc Kudisch (9 to 5), Celia Keenan-Bolger (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Sharon McNight (Starmites), join Julia Murney (Lennon), Kerry O’Malley (Iriving Berlin’s White Christmas), Manu Narayan (Bombay Dreams) and many more Broadway stars.

   Tickets for all the Town Hall Broadway Cabaret Festival events range from $50–$55 and may be purchased through a subscription or individually at Ticketmaster.com, 212-307-4100 or The Town Hall Box Office between noon and 6 pm (except Sundays), 212-840-2824. 

   The Town Hall is located at 123 West 43rd Street, New York, New York.